Acantus

With their self-titled album, Acantus reintroduces the world to Italy's seldom-heard religious folk songs. Once a popular form, sung every day by people across the countryside, these songs blend the sound of Gregorian chants with non-art music instrumentation such as lutes, flutes, viellas and tambourines. Although the simple polyphony driving these pieces was prevalent in music written in the 14th and 15th centuries, this was not the case in of "official" music of the church or state.
The vocal chorus at the center of each of these pieces uses a style similar to that still heard in some traditional Italian music. The sustained tone and hypnotic melody of the voices weave through the pieces, giving the music a floating, ethereal quality.
As a piece of music history, ACANTUS is an important look at popular religious music of the Middle Ages. For pure enjoyment, it is a relaxing, immaculately performed, unique adventure.